Government vows to speed up UK superfast broadband roll out

Comms providers will no longer need local council approval to install superfast broadband networks in the UK, the Government has announced.

The move is part of a push by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to speed up the roll out of superfast broadband networks in the UK by cutting the amount of red tape involved in projects.

Under the new plans, broadband cables and street cabinets can be installed, except on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, without the approval of local councils.

Superfast broadband is vital to our country's future.

The DCMS also plans to make it easier for broadband networks to be deployed on private land, and wants to cut the cost of laying street cables.

In a Departmental statement, DCMS said the roll out out of superfast broadband has been held back in the past by bureaucracy, and in the long run - this could affect the UK's economic prospects.

"The Government is investing 680 million in superfast broadband, but the delivery of this vital business infrastructure is being held up by unnecessary bureaucracy in the planning system, jeopardising the country's economic recovery," it stated.

The DCMS has also unveiled plans to develop a "national contract" that would allow the installation of broadband infrastructure to be tightly coupled with the nation's power supply.

Maria Miller, the recently appointed Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Superfast broadband is vital to secure our country's future to kick start economic growth and create jobs.

"We are putting in the essential infrastructure that will make UK businesses competitive," she added.